Homes Stuff I Love, Adore, Rate & Recommend

Homes Stuff

When it comes to interiors, they shouldn’t always be matchy-matchy, serious or sensible. Which is why I absolutely love this new piece of wall art by Czar Catstick at Art Finder. Called ‘The Auburn Jerry Hall, 2015 – Lowbrow’, it’s a pop art of Kathy Burke aka Linda La Hughes from the TV sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme. Hang it in the hallway, the bathroom or anywhere to bring a smile to one’s face. It’s £240 and a limited edition of 20, so hurry hurry hurry!

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Picture the scene – you’re in a chi-chi lounge bar, all moody lights, shimmery dècor, classy nibbles on the super shiny table and a frosty cocktail in hand (actually it’s your living room, but…!) To finish the look you need a rather fabulous and elegant chair to sit in: enter the Twiggy! This investment dining or occasional chair has a quilted leather back and trim teamed with sumptuous fabric seat and arms, both of which you can customise to your choice – how decadent. The Twiggy Chair, £1970 from Urban Living Interiors.

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I hate coats hanging up in the hallway gathering dust, falling down and getting in the way. I was so pleased to find this stunning solution from one of my favourite brands, Ibride. One moment it’s a full-length piece of artwork, the next it opens up to reveal shoes and coats. Although it’s not cheap at £899 (!) I think it’s genius! The Les Valets Wall Wardrobe, Rosalba from Ibride Dandy Collection is available from House Junkie.

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I’m doing up my new (old) house and my mood boards are very much Hollywood Regency/1930s Glamour inspired. Working them into a 400 year old house isn’t as weird (or wrong) as it sounds, as I want to make it as light and bright and modern as possible. Take two or three eras i.e. Regency, 1930s, and Modern and they work so well together. The key is keeping the colour palette simple. US designer Jonathan Adler does it brilliantly. See my A/W15 Trends Report in the upcoming October issue of Real Homes magazine.

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Tut tut, it’s been a few months since I last posted my recommendations (blame a time-consuming move to a 400 year old house in the country!), but I think this amazing image from the new collection at M&S was worth waiting for. Art Deco style, peacock colour palette, lots of metallics, pineapple objet d’art – it’s the trend in interiors right now, and I just love it. What do you think, could it work in your home? Check out the rest of my interiors trend predictions in the October issue of Real Homes magazine.

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Doing research for my Stylish New Looks for Lighting feature for Real Homes magazine (February issue, out now) I was reminded how important it is to choose the right type of lighting for every room: task – focused lighting such as a desk lamp or overhead for kitchens; accent – to highlight certain features or areas such as a painting; ambient – to create a mood and feeling of a room. This rather chic ambient Devon Floor Lamp from John Lewis would look amazing in any room at this time of year. It’s yours for £130.

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The trend for eccentric wallpapers is huge this year in interiors – but not just for feature walls (so early Noughties). Instead I love the look on two, three or all walls (even put wallpaper on the ceiling if you keep the walls in a matching paint colour). Two of my favourites are from The Graduate Collection which showcases products from exciting new designers coming out of UK universities. The Dachshund wallpaper would be perfect in a hallway, boot room or similar small space; while the Marie Antoinette design would look great in a bedroom, large bathroom or dining room (look closely, and you’ll see how quirky/eccentric it is!). I think they’re genius.

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Years ago, when we moved into our cottage there was a garage sale down the lane and I picked up two Parker Knoll armchairs for the grand sum of £5! I recovered them and they looked as fabulous as when they were new back in the 70s. Classic design never goes out of style which is why I’m lusting after this Parker Knoll Swivel Statesmen Chair, in Mystic Gold fabric, available exclusively at John Lewis. Unfortunately, unless it appears in a garage sale soon near me for a lot less than the asking price of £1,999, it’ll have to stay on my Lust List

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When I was working on photo shoots alongside food stylists and photographers there were many behind-the-scenes tricks I learnt: one of the most important being – what colour/style plates with which food? The big no-no is dark blue plates with meat of any kind, as it makes it look cold and unappetising. Luckily, my favourite colour way crockery – black and white – looks good with everything, so I’m loving these gorgeous little Etched Peony gems from M&S. Prices start from £5 for a side plate.